I am a figurative painter working in acrylics; my style incorporates both closely-observed detail and atmospheric brushwork. I temper the hardness of hyper-realism with the softness of multiple transparent layers of paint, with results that are both precise and luminous, cerebral and moody.

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My process involves the use of existing photographic references, both those selected from my family collection and those I have found elsewhere. I typically work with mundane snapshots, rather than relying on professional photography. Either way, I select images which speak to me on both a conscious and subconscious level, both intellectually and intuitively. Making art from existing photographs requires that I re-envision my sources rather than just copying them, so problem-solving is crucial to my process.

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Themes of my work include introspective people experiencing complex emotions; the relentless passage of time; and images that evoke our collective history and memories. As a figurative painter, I am interested in technical accuracy, but I am equally concerned with psychological accuracy; depicting the mental and emotional state of a subject is as crucial to me as capturing their likeness. I often paint children, and I depict childhood as emotionally intense, rather than sweet and sentimental.

 

Compositionally, I choose subjects in the transitional moments between posed moments, when they are actively engaging with something beyond the camera's lens, and thus beyond the eyes of the viewer. As in a snapshot or selfie, I often crop figures tightly and frame them exiting the edge of the canvas, which creates a sense of energy and movement. Other important elements of my work include expressive lighting and dense layers of subtle color.

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